Content about retention

"Degrees will open doors" is a myth that many college students mistakenly accept as entitlement. Students who buy into that myth have a tendency to do the minimum required for earning a degree and fail to develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful at a job. It's like paying for groceries and leaving them at the checkout stand; then expecting to be fed by others once we leave the store.

"I am very disappointed in my choice for a degree. It has left me stranded when looking for work. I am only able to get a $12 per hour job and working two jobs is getting old. Suggestions?"

Despite living in a society that holds cooperation as a core value, students in the Japanese higher education system typically study in a rigid lecture-test environment that neither supports nor condones collaboration in the classroom. I addressed this cultural cognitive dissonance during a lecture to Hachinohe University faculty about how to use group-learning methods to invigorate student development in traditional higher education.

This article provides the English and Japanese language resources from "Transforming the traditional classroom with team learning: The teacher’s shifting leadership role in collaborative learning environments," a lecture presented by Brent Duncan to the faculty and adminstration of Hachinohe University, Japan on July 13, 2011.